Affinity Groups

Established in 2007 under the leadership of Jan King '80, the Harvard-Westlake African American Alumni Network’s goals are to connect African American alumni, foster community among African American alumni, current parents, and students, and to support and advance the mission of Harvard-Westlake. In 2012-2013, HWAAAN established and fully funded the HWAAAN Student Assistance Fund, the first and only endowment to support financial aid funded by a Harvard-Westlake alumni affinity group. HWAAAN sponsors cultural and social gatherings, events in conjunction with Black History Month, and its annual spring Fireside Chat. All members of the Harvard-Westlake community are welcome to attend. For more information about HWAAAN, please contact Tiffany Alexander Aldridge '87 at tiffanyala@aol.com or Jennifer Haley '84 at haleyskinmd@gmail.com.

Established in 2003, the Harvard-Westlake Alumni Arts and Entertainment Network provides a forum for alumni engagement with the entertainment industry and the exploration of topics affecting the creative community.  In connecting Harvard-Westlake with many of the leading voices in entertainment, HWAAEN offers alumni the opportunity to not only network, but also gain a better understanding of the entertainment business from an insider's perspective. In the last few years, HWAAEN has featured an array of distinguished speakers including Zack Van Amburg '88 (President, Sony Pictures Television), Lewis Wolff (Owner, Oakland Athletics), Jordan Levin P’14 '17 '20 (CCO, NFL Network), and Michael Nyman '82 (CEO, PMK/BNC Public Relations). For more information about HWAEN, please contact Andrew Jameson '86 at andrew-jameson@sbcglobal.net.  

Relaunched in 2018, the HW Alumni Educators Network seeks to touch all aspects of education, including public, private, and charter schools, nonprofit education initiatives, and policy trends in education at all levels. HW Alumni Ed Net events will feature speakers with networking opportunities before and after the program. The affinity group aims to attract a diverse set of alumni who have pursued or are interested in pursuing a career in education and those who simply have an interest in education. In a field in which opportunities to network outside of specific institutions are rare, the network hopes to help bridge that gap for HW alumni. For more information about HW Ed Net, please contact Lindsay Koss '96 at lindsayekoss@gmail.com or Deborah Stokol '02 at dstokol@gmail.com.  

The HW Alumni in Finance Network brings together alumni who work in finance for idea dinners in which each participant presents the analysis behind an investment that they have thoroughly researched, presents the investment thesis, and then answers questions from attendees. The format helps foster good debate on the merits of the investment and allows for attendees to hear different points of view. The affinity group was formulated by Greg Nathan ’98 in 2012 who felt that alumni who work in finance would get more value from participating in small group dinners rather than listening to a speaker or panel. For more information about the Finance Network, please contact Greg Nathan '98 at gregory.nathan@yahoo.com.

The Harvard-Westlake Alumni Legal Network was established in 2021 to build a broad community of professionals in the legal field, alumni who are considering or attending law school, and alumni who have J.D.'s and no longer practicing but interested in networking. For more information about the Legal Network, please contact Jeremy Rosen '89 at jrosen@horvitzlevy.com or Michael Freedman '01 at mgf283@gmail.com.

The HW Alumni LGBTQ+ Network came together in 2012 to provide support and foster networking among the school's LGBTQ+ alumni, faculty, and staff. This group focuses primarily on social and community-building events. Aside from its annual happy hour mixer, it also sponsors social events such as picnics and movie screenings both off and on-campus in conjunction with the Video Arts Department. The group has inspired members to come together for activism and community involvement. For more information about the LBGTQ+ Network, please contact Aman Chaudhary '91 at aman.about.town@gmail.com.

Established in 2017, the HW Alumni Private Equity/Investment Banking Network aims to bring together Harvard-Westlake alumni who are active in the mergers and acquisitions arena, whether via investment banks, business brokers, private equity firms, late-stage venture firms, or family offices. The group hosts gatherings to allow dealmakers in the alumni community to meet each other, exchange ideas, and hopefully find a way to do business together. (Since there is also an HW Real Estate Alumni Network, this group focuses on operating companies, not real assets/properties.) For more information at about the PE/IB Network in Los Angeles or New York, please contact Jeff Kending '96 at jeffkendig@gmail.com in Los Angeles or Matt Graziano '08 mattg1224@gmail.com in New York City.

This group is all about social impact and doing good. Whether in the nonprofit, foundation, private sector, or public sector, many HW alumni/ae work or donate their time to address social challenges, including those surrounding health, education, the environment, equity and inclusion, and other fields. This group connects across sectors, industries, and class years to share experiences and insights. We are also eager to show students and alumni/ae that addressing social challenges can be meaningful both as a career path and as a part of their personal lives. For more information about the Social Impact Network, please contact Hillary Gross Moglen '94 at hmoglen@wearerally.com.

Established in 2008 by Andrea Levine Firtel '95, the HW Alumni with Young Kids Network hosts play dates where alumni can bring their children (8 years and younger) to play and mingle, including its annual Halloween party. The group also hosts panel or lecture events featuring speakers on parenting topics and parent education. For more information about the Alumni with Young Kids Network, please contact Michelle Lee Choi '97 at mylee177@gmail.com.

Established in 2011 by four alumni interested in promoting business and entrepreneurship efforts throughout the Harvard-Westlake community, the HW Business and Entrepreneurship Alumni Network covers programming in business, entrepreneurship, fundraising, marketing, and career and personal development. Each event features a networking reception in addition to the program. For more information about HWBEAN, please contact Austin Katz '95 at austin@katzfamily.net.  

The Harvard-Westlake Korean American Alumni Network (“HWKAAN”) strives to connect Korean American alumni from Harvard, Westlake, and Harvard-Westlake and further enable the mission of Harvard-Westlake by fostering its inclusive community among alumni, students, and parents to be purposeful, contributing members of society. HWKAAN sponsors cultural and industry specific events that are open to all members of the Harvard-Westlake community. For more information about HWKAAN, please contact Sophiea Kim '12 at sophiea.jk@gmail.com.

Launched in 2005, the HW Real Estate Alumni Network endeavors to touch all aspects of the real estate industry including different asset classes (residential, commercial, industrial, office, etc.), architecture, design, development, hospitality, affordable housing and tax, among others. Typically, HWREAN events feature a panel of speakers or a keynote speaker and are held either in the early morning as a breakfast meeting or in the evening with networking opportunities before and after the program. The affinity group aims to attract a diverse set of alumni who have pursued or are interested in pursuing a real estate career and those who simply have an interest in real estate. For more information about HWREAN, please contact Richard Schulman '99 at schulmanrd@gmail.com 

Established in 2021, the HW Veterans Alumni Network aims to bring together members of the Harvard-Westlake community who served or are serving in the military. For more information about the Veterans Network, please contact co-chairs Colonel George Fenimore '77 or Captain Jack LaZebnik '09 at harvardwestlakeveterans@gmail.com.